


Fool For You

by silent_shadow (silent_deadly)



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec Lightwood - Bassist, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bad Decisions, Happy Ending, Hurt Alec Lightwood, Light Angst, M/M, Magnus Bane Is The Lead Singer, Making Up, Misunderstandings, Post-Break Up, They Still Love Each Other Very Much, Truthfully Stupid Decisions, Worn Out Magnus Bane, concert setting, they just need to talk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-15
Updated: 2018-01-15
Packaged: 2019-03-05 04:02:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13379739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silent_deadly/pseuds/silent_shadow
Summary: Being a celebrity comes with it's perks and loss. Magnus and Alec both had to suffer through the loss of their relationship as they gained fame. Misunderstandings and contracts are always behind such endings. Magnus just wants to make sure their love survives because as told by the great Johnny Cash:"As sure as night is dark and day is lightI keep you on my mind both day and nightAnd happiness I've known proves that it's rightBecause you're mine, I walk the line"





	Fool For You

**Author's Note:**

> The title is taken from the song "I Walk The Line" by Johnny Cash.  
> The song referenced in the story is "Superstar" by The Carpenters. Enjoy!

Invincible, that’s what Magnus feels every time he’s on the stage. Kids screaming along to the words he penned gives him an elation that on other occasions evades him. The way they scream his name makes him believe in immortality and louder it gets, the more fervently he sings back with everything he has got to offer bleeding through him into the world.

It’s very rare that he recalls what he does on the stage, letting adrenaline take over him as soon as the performance starts, turning him into someone so different from the articulate person he tries to be. Sometimes he’ll be sitting backstage sharing a drink with everyone when he gets a blinding pain somewhere only to have someone tell him he attempted a backflip and landed wrong or something more bizarre. Once he fell off a high railing as he danced and broke his wrist, thankfully he wasn’t the guitar wielding part of the band.

But no matter how many injuries or backlashes he gets from being a celebrity Magnus knows there won’t ever be a time he would stop being thankful for Isabelle Lightwood. Before this band he was part of a duo, playing in small venues and clubs until one day 19-year-old Izzy made her way to him after his set and begged to be part of a small band “Shadow World”. He can still remember when Izzy pulled him to the alley away from the loud music in the club and forced him to listen to their demos. Simon’s voice and Alec’s guitar was his introduction to the elusive band. Though reluctant at first due to the difference in their musical styles, he agreed to go for just one rehearsal as Izzy insisted that Magnus was the missing piece of the band. The official story told in interviews is how Magnus formed an immediate bond with the band members. The truth though was a little more scandalous as it was the hazel eyed guitarist that made him keep going back to the rehearsals till somehow he became the official lead singer of the band.  

Magnus laughed into the mic as their third song for the night ended when he has to whip out introductions even though everyone there already knew who they were. Why else would one spend money for the concert tickets? Izzy started the notes for the interlude, soon taken up by Jace, Alec and Simon. Magnus couldn’t keep the maniacal smile off of his face as looked at the crowd, still relentlessly screaming.

“How are you this fine evening London?!” He shouted holding the mic to his lips as he sashayed to the edge of the stage. The screams he got in return made him want to tear out his skin. “How many of you are aware that our first single got released three years ago today?” Though his vision was limited due to the loud lights the screams never grew quiet instead it got louder after his question.

“Then please join me in thanking our wonderful instrumentalists who made that song into smashing hit it became. First the intelligent, fierce and scarily talented drummer, Ms. Isabelle Lightwood.” Magnus screamed as he ran to the drum, balancing on the bass drum as Izzy banged out a few loud notes still maintaining the flow of the song being played. He could vaguely hear Izzy’s name being chanted through the screams.

“The resident troublemaker, our constant headache but an awesome guitarist Mr. Jace Wayland!” Magnus winked at him as Jace glared through a smirk, the crowd now chanting Jace’s name amongst the screams as a few kids professed their love for him. Jace played out a small solo, head banging and jumping around the stage.

“The sweetheart of the rock music scene, a gigantic nerd and our wonderful keyboardist and songwriter, Mr. Simon Lewis.” Simon just waved with a huge smile. As Magnus walked towards the front of the stage to stand next to Simon, he could see the heart eyes on a bunch of girls standing at the front recording the keyboardist on their phones.

“And I saved the best for last. The handsome brooding bassist who stole my heart, the one and only Alexander Lightwood.” Magnus said, much more sober, the screams becoming unbelievably louder. “And you know me, yours truly, Magnus Bane. We are the Shadow World and we want to thank you all for coming to see us, and for the love you give us. We adore you all so let’s stop wasting our time and get into the next song.”

Magnus waited for Izzy’s notes before starting the song, the only song written for Alexander that he let the band use. He tried to obscure it enough that no one’s yet realized that. But seeing Alexander’s stone cold expression masking the pain every time the song plays Magnus gets the sinking feeling he’s in on the secret. They always dodge each other when they play this song live, but today Magnus couldn’t resist and walked towards him only to realize that Alexander himself was sending him small glances every other note. As he reached closer to the bassist, he looked up directly at Magnus, the piercing glare making him miss a few words before taking it back up and dancing towards the front of the stage as he tried to put away his feelings and focus on the show, unwilling to let his emotions ruin such a great show they were putting out.

Right before their second last song, Magnus could see that Alexander’s face still showed a great amount of discomfort and annoyance and maybe that’s why he did what he went for next. As the lights went off for a few moments giving them time to exchange their guitars and cool down, Magnus walked to the dead mic to announce to the crew and the band members he wants to play a cover. He could see the horror on everyone’s faces. Luke will be angry at him for diverting from the setlist, but he didn’t care anymore.

“I want to share one of my favorite songs with you instead of the same bunch of songs that we play over and over again, hope you enjoy it.” He said into the mic before he started singing.

Simon and Jace joined him on his lunacy as soon as they recognized the song. He looked candidly at Alec as often as he can without raising too many suspicions, he has grown tired of the aggravating distance between them, he wanted confrontation.

_“Long ago, and, oh, so far away_

_I fell in love with you before the second show_

_Your guitar, it sounds so sweet and_ _clear"_

_"Don't you remember, you told me you loved me baby?_

_You said you'd be coming back this way again baby"_

_"I love you, I_ _really_ _do…_ _”_

**************************************************

_“I fell in love with you before the second show,"_

Alec tried his best to stop his emotions from overwhelming him. He didn't even try to play the bass line, hoping everyone will assume he isn’t aware of the tabs. Instead he just stood awkwardly towards the corner not allowed to run off the stage until they have finished their entire set. Alec could feel both Izzy’s and Magnus stare on him. He couldn’t deal with the latter yet, so he looked at Izzy who wasn’t playing either rather focusing on Alec. He attempted a smile to reassure her though he’s sure he didn’t quite achieve it as Izzy just looked more concerned.

_“Don't you remember, you told me you loved me baby?”_

He wanted to shout at Magnus he remembers, how could he ever forget even if he tried his best. Every line he sang tore away at Alec’s chest, the pain almost unbearable. Alec had always prided himself for his emotional stability, but like many other things, when it comes to Magnus all his rules go out the window. He hates that Magnus is so much more in check in comparison.

“ _I love you, I_ _really_ _do…”_

Alec barely contained the tears filling his eyes as Magnus looked right at him when he sang those lines making this the first time Magnus addressed him like that in almost three years. He could feel the anger bubbling up, louder than the hurt. His steely mask was melting away with his anger and Magnus’s ardent glances intensified by the song.

As soon as Magnus closed the night's set a song later, Alec left the stage hastily with a dull smile and a quick wave. He could hear Izzy call out his name as he briskly walked towards the dressing room after shoving his bass at a guitar tech.

“Alec! Please stop!” Izzy shouted as she jogged towards him, thanking the Gods that the kids were just making their way backstage. She’s sure that Alec would hate causing any more rumours.

“Izzy don’t.” Alec warned her as soon as she walked in the dressing room, “You need to go and meet the kids.”

“Alec, they want to see you too.” Alec hated how her voice carried so much pity. He didn’t need any, pity isn’t going to fix everything magically.

“I just need a few minutes, tell them I have a headache.” When she showed no sign of walking out Alec let out a loud groan in his head before adding, “I was just blindsided Iz. A few minutes and I’ll come join you.”

“Alright. Be there soon.” Izzy replied giving him a long look before jogging out. He let out a loud sigh before sinking onto the couch in the room, his head hidden in his palms as he tried to gather his thoughts after the mess that Magnus turned it into. Magnus had to go and fucking break him all over again just as he foolishly started to believe they were quite over their relationship.

Back when they were together Magnus often sang _‘Superstar’_ to beguile Alec into play his guitar late at night, which led to the two of them playing different songs early into the morning. He has lost count of how many songs the two of them wrote during those sessions. Though not a single song left their apartment as they were possessive enough to not have their love so blatantly exhibited to the world. Alec finally let out a few tears he’d been holding back as he thought about the smiles and tears they shared. All the memories he had tried his best to avoid as discreetly as he avoided Magnus over the past three years were playing in his mind as if from a movie he watched a while ago.

Each line of that song brought forth a plethora of memories to sort through, them meeting when Izzy brought Magnus with her one evening, Alec and Magnus going out for a date within a week, falling in love as they started small performances, living together within a year and a half as they wrote the first album. A relationship that anyone who saw got jealous of, a relationship that made them blindly believe they were the one. He is still miffed because they survived so much and were finally happy only to have the ground pulled away from under their feet. The knocks on the door shocked him out of his melancholic nostalgia as he swiftly tired to wipe away the tears before anyone noticed.

“Hey!” Clary said entering the room, “They are asking for you backstage, the signing is about to be over.”

“Yeah, give me a few seconds, just need to freshen up.” Alec spoke with a dismissal to get her to leave. He didn’t want anyone to witness him broken down over a song.

“Here.” She gave him a pack of wet tissue from Izzy’s small backpack she always brings into the dressing rooms. “Alec… Though it wasn’t very eloquent of him I’m sure Magnus had his reasons. And I’m not trying to invalidate your pain but Izzy is visibly angry at Magnus so please go out there before we have fans running around with even more rumours than this stunt would cause.”

“Luke will kill us all.” Alec spoke as he cleaned his face with a strongly perfumed wet wipe, his thoughts avoiding all emotions by pointing out how he will smell like red roses and a mix of his cologne and sweat. Very appealing, he scoffed.

“He’s more mad at Magnus. I will talk to Luke. Could you and Magnus please talk instead of doing what you both did last time? Such a stupid fucking idea.” Clary said before promptly walking out looking for Luke in the mess that is after show madness.

As much as it pains for him to admit it Clary was right, so was everyone else when they said Magnus and Alec’s decision was moronic. With a short pep talk at his reflection he walked towards the large crowd of fans who actually paid extra just to meet them.

As soon as a few girls saw him walking towards them they squealed and walked towards him, shoving things at him for autographs and talking about how much he inspires them, he tries to give heartfelt replies as much as he can. Today all he can focus on is Magnus and his smile as he talks to the fans surrounding him, all of them looking enthralled by him, hanging onto his every word.

Thankfully by the time Luke asked to wrap up the signing no one tried to get him to talk about the song or ‘Malec’. He was tired of hearing young girls ask him about it whenever wherever they can. Everyone trudged into the dressing room to get the things left behind or in Jace’s case finish the beers while Simon tries to get him to play a round of his choice video game. Usually Alec joins them, always on a high form the performance he likes to come back to reality laughing at the antics of his family. But today he had come crashing down on stage and he just wanted a bit of fresh air. So he walked out of the venue donning on a coat hoping no one follows him as he tried to find any unoccupied corner away from the eyes of the fans who are still leaving.

“Alec!” Hearing Magnus call him he faltered in his walk, but he had made a promise to himself to evade Magnus as much as possible, so he picked up his speed without turning back. Being in a band together one might argue it would be hard to avoid each other, all Alec has to say to that is they surely didn’t have his resolve.

“Alec! Hey! Wait up!” He could hear Magnus’s footsteps moving faster, the son of a bitch was almost jogging he realised. Alec stifled a groan as he tired to pick up his pace to not let Magnus catch up which meant he was in a weird position where he was alternating between running and walking at the same time as he looked around for someone to hide behind without being too obvious. Magnus was annoyingly fast.

“Alexander!” This time Alec stopped, not even bothering to bite back his groan. Fuck Magnus and his ability to say his name so lovingly.

“What is it Magnus?” He said as he looked around, their strange tag game bought them next to their tour bus which thankfully for once didn’t have fans lurking near it.

“Just wanted to talk.” Magnus spoke then went silent forcing Alec to turn and face him. Even after an hour long performance and another hour of hyping up leading to that, Magnus still managed to look just as breathtakingly beautiful as always, the aura of comfort he gives of always soothes everyone, even the most jittery fans are easily calmed by his presence and smile alone.

There was something incredibly enchanting about Magnus Bane. Falling in love with him felt like a fairy-tale for Alec who had long ago stopped dreaming of such a life. Being gay wasn’t welcome in his family so for the longest time he had stayed hidden behind academics, sports and music, trying to be the best at everything to have his parents look at his achievements rather than him. The band changed everything for him but it was Magnus who made him believe in happily ever afters again. Somehow after everything he still didn’t get his. He wants to be bitter even though he knows he’s still young, way too young to be jaded regarding love.

“What do you want Magnus?” He hadn’t meant it to sound as rude as it did. He was feeling unbelievably tired, and he just wanted to be alone.

“I wanted to apologize for catching you by surprise with the song.” Magnus replied, he didn’t look offended by Alec’s flippant question. Alec was thankful for that, he didn’t want Magnus to ever think that he hates him.

“Why?” Alec asked, anger draining away from him the longer he looked at Magnus’s warm brown eyes leaving him vulnerable. He’s pretty sure he’ll have to be physically restrained from kissing Magnus if they continued maintaining eye contact any longer.

“I felt like I had to.” Magnus answered, the confidence in his answer brought back a bit of his anger which was thankfully strong enough to let him to look away.

“You felt like you had to Magnus? Are you kidding me?!” Alec spoke, his voice slightly louder than it should be by a well-known person standing in middle of a parking lot.

“Yes!” Magnus replied equally as loud as Alec walking closer to him. “You have been thoroughly avoiding me Alec! I wanted a reaction from you. I wanted you to talk to me.”

“So, you decide to go on stage and make it obvious that ‘Malec’ is a thing instead of confronting me in a room full of people who wouldn’t spread rumors?! I thought we broke up to avoid that! Because we didn’t want any ‘drama’ in the band!” Alec half-shouted. They were standing close enough that he could feel Magnus’s warmth radiating from him.

“That wasn’t the point at all you stubborn-”

“Then what was the point?! Because that’s what was decided Magnus, that’s what you told me when I was thinking of how I would propose to you!”

“What?!” Magnus whispered, his eyes going wide with surprise as he backed away from Alec.

They stayed silent for a few minutes, Magnus never taking his eyes of Alec and Alec looking everywhere to avoid his stare. He could hear distant sounds of traffic and laughter from around them but the silence in between them was too heavy, too strong slowly drowning out all the other noises. With a sigh Alec answered Magnus, finally revealing the real reason he tried not to be alone with him, “I was going to ask you to marry me because I never fell for anyone like I did with you, because I didn’t want to live without you.”

“Alexander… I..” Magnus still seemed completely shocked but thankfully the pity hadn’t yet reached his voice. Izzy and Jace still can’t get rid of that undertone if this topic ever comes up.

“Don’t. Please don’t say anything about it.”

“Alexander, we had to break up because of the label, the kids were getting too into our relationship rather than the music. The label wanted a gage of our music first. But you have to believe me when I say that I never wanted to let you go, not for a moment.”

“I know that, but it doesn’t change the fact that you did let go. I know why the label didn’t want us to go public with our relationship, I agreed with that too. But I still hoped you’d fight for us. It was a stupid hope, I should’ve logically thought about it, but… The worst part was when we talked after the meeting you didn’t even want to hear me out, you straight out told me to leave it.”

“We were being watched! I tried so hard to talk to you after that. But you never wanted to. You even sent Izzy and Jace came by to take your things from our apartment. I was praying to all Gods that you’d come so we could talk, but you didn’t.”

“What were you planning on saying that would’ve made it better?”

“I would’ve said that I love you too much to not have you by my side Alexander and that I had a plan. Once the album reached platinum, we no longer have to worry about the reason behind our success. I thought we could then talk with the label executives about wanting to go public with our relationship. I tried to talk to you so many times the coming months, to beg you to wait, to give me some time to make it right. But you never let me speak.”

“I thought you just wanted to apologise for ending it, that you might not have loved-” Alec didn’t continue that sentence instead opting for something considerably less heavy, “I was too petty and broken-down to face you. And then you just stopped, I honestly can’t tell what burned me more.”

“I felt too worn out to run after you anymore, too tired of never catching up to you even when you were sitting right beside me.” Magnus said as his eyes looked down at the dirty road rather than at him for the first time since he caught up to Alec, his arms crossed as he rubbed his forearms trying to fight the chill growing in the air with just a thin coat on.

“I think you just caught up Magnus.” Alec quipped, only realising the truth behind that sentence after he said it out loud. For three years this is what hung in between them, a stupid label contract and even stupider bruised egos. Magnus’s stunt today led to them spilling out what they never tried harder to say, the two reasons that made them dodge each other whenever they could without being obvious. Things weren’t the same anymore, they changed for something better, brighter. Alec could feel his face betraying him as it smiled at Magnus. He didn’t care about it anymore when Magnus walked back closer to him with a returning smile of his own.

“I believe I just did.”

**Author's Note:**

> I thought about Magnus and Alec when I was listening to the song that Magnus is singing in the story. So instead of doing a shit ton of work I had left, I wrote this. I know they are a bit different from the characters. Since they are rockstars, I thought they should be a bit different than their canon counterparts.  
> I really hope you enjoyed reading this.


End file.
